Honduran daily attacked by gunmen

New York, December 5, 2011--The offices of Honduran
daily La Tribuna, based in the capital, Tegucigalpa, were attacked by
unidentified gunmen early this morning after the newspaper published reports
that linked local police to recent murders, news reports said.

Witnesses said assailants in a gray car fired
around 10 shots at the offices, leaving bullet holes in the walls and
shattering a glass door, La Tribuna reported.
A security guard, José
Manuel Izaguirre, was hit three times and later hospitalized, news reports said.

La Tribuna published reports in
October that linked local police to the murders of two university students. News
accounts reported that four police officers
were imprisoned and three were considered fugitives in the case.

On
November 20, unidentified assailants in a car
followed a reporter for La Tribuna
and fired at him. The reporter was not injured. Three days later, the newspaper
published a "public complaint" saying
that members of its staff had been harassed and threatened by law enforcement officials.

La Tribuna news editor Martín Ramírez
said the vehicle in the November 20 incident was believed to be the same one in
today's attack, but did not provide any more details. No suspects have been
identified in either incident.

"We condemn this latest attack against the
daily La Tribuna," said Carlos Lauría,
CPJ's senior program coordinator for the Americas. "Honduran authorities must
put an end to the cycle of impunity in attacks against journalists, which are
hindering coverage of sensitive issues. We urge the authorities to thoroughly
investigate this crime and bring those responsible to justice."

In
May, gunmen shot
and wounded Manuel Acosta Medina, La
Tribuna's general manager, as he was driving home. In the two months
leading up to that attack, CPJ documented a string of attacks against
journalists throughout the country. Twelve Honduran journalists have been murdered since March 2010, at least
three in direct reprisal for their work. A 2010 CPJ special report found a pattern of botched
and negligent investigative work into the killings.